Bareback

Hank Dogs, ???????? | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 2, 1999)
• Original Release Date: February 2, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Hannibal
• ASIN: B00000I04J
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #216,382 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com's Best of 1999

Combining a rock-solid Fairport Convention-like musical base with sterling vocals and songs, Bareback is an album that extends and undermines the British folk tradition in a fascinating manner. The Hank Dogs are not only the year's most promising folk groups; they're responsible for one of '99's outstanding debuts, regardless of genre. --Steven Stolder

Product Description

Japanese edition of the folk/alternative country act's critically acclaimed 1999 debut album. 15 tracks including the bonus cut 'Get It'. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Such luminous darkness..., October 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Bareback (Audio CD)

Wow -- I bought this on a whim.... anyway, the Hank Dogs do not disappoint... This is lush, and serpentine, and not entirely to be trusted; full of tequila, ponds steaming on cold mornings, rusty bridles, closeted skeletons, innuendo-laden smiles that aren't really smiles, and old grievances tended like fires... Guitars curl round and round each other with reptilian grace until each song has been knitted into a scaly lattice, in and out of which the two women's voices weave and bob like the doves they most certainly are not...

Despite the presence of Joe Boyd, the early Fairport comparison seems inappropriate -- they really sound very little like FC. More like a hybrid of Townes Van Zandt at his quietest, early Freakwater, and a much less gratuitous Sundays (circa their first two albums), with a spare, hollow, tight sound that owes more to late-70s/early-80s Rough Trade skronkety-pop than it does to 60s Witchseason aesthetics (although there are definitely shades of "Pink Moon" herein) -- despite all that, however, the Hank Dogs' music is deeply rooted in the Contemporary (whatever your definition of that might be) and aren't so easy to pin down.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars permanent occupant of my player, August 4, 2000

By 

J. Horner "Professional Cook/Culinary Instructor" (Auburndale, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bareback (Audio CD)

God I hope people find this record! Toss up your money right now, tell a friend, call radio stations, write a letter campaign. This is one of the finest new folk/country (and really - what is country music anyway but american folk music??) CD's I have heard in years. Having whet my appetite on June Tabor, Pentangle, Lyle Lovett, Christine Collister, Lucinda Williams, Richard Shindell, Richard Thompson I am finally ready for Hank Dogs. The harmonies are brilliant, sure they are occasionally a bit out of perfect pitch, but that is part the pleasure of listening. Lily and Piano are perfect together. Each winds around the others voice so well they sometimes sound like 1. The guitar work is FLAWLESS. The Spanish guitars and horns on the title track are guaranteed to make your heart ache. 18 dogs is in the style of a classic Celtic tale with a western twist. I could carry on but it just started coming around again on track one and I have to go listen.........

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mesmerizing!, December 9, 2002

By 

GeoGirl (near Cleveland, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bareback (Audio CD)

I first heard several selections on World Cafe Program on my local public radio station and was captivated. I bought the CD on a whim and have practically worn it out.

The entire CD is mesmerizing, haunting and addictive. I have bought it and recommended it several people. The vocals are amazing and the lyrics are poetic. Its hard to imagine that there are only three people in the group, the sound is so lush.

If you like Mazzy Star, the Sundays, the Cowboy Junkies or are just a fan of folk music, you should definitely give this a try. Play it though entirely and just try not to hit repeat!